Developing Corporate Skilling Strategies to Enhance Women's Employability Through CSR Program
By Chandan Chowdhury, Rajiv Bhargava
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scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=IiONWy4AAAAJ&citation_for_view=IiONWy4AAAAJ:W7OEmFMy1HYC
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Chowdhury, Chandan., Bhargava, Rajiv. Developing Corporate Skilling Strategies to Enhance Women's Employability Through CSR Program scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=IiONWy4AAAAJ&citation_for_view=IiONWy4AAAAJ:W7OEmFMy1HYC.
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Abstract
In a recent report on the global gender gap by the World Economic Forum in 2018, India ranked 108th out of 149 countries on the gender gap. Specifically, India ranked 142nd on economic participation and opportunity, 114th on educational attainment, and 147th on Health and survival.
India's FLFPR (Female Labour Force Participation Rate) was at its peak in 2005, at 33.87%, and has fallen to 24.67% in 2019 – the lowest among the G20 countries. In 2018, Saudi Arabia had the lowest FLFPR but they have steadily improved their position from 18.59% in 2005 to 24.73% in 2019 as against India declining from 33.87% in 2005 to 24.67% in 2019.
A key driver of labour force participation is workforce skilling – India's numbers here are dismal. Only 4.69% of India's overall workforce (male and female) are formally skilled, as compared to 52% in the United States, 68% in the United Kingdom, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea.
Moreover, the types of skilling imparted are becoming increasingly important - new technologies and intelligent machines are making many current job roles redundant, and women's jobs are particularly vulnerable. We will not be able to protect jobs from automation, but we need to develop strategies at the national level to safeguard livelihoods by up-and re-skilling people in more relevant areas. We need to enable our employees to be more agile and re-skill them on new job roles.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the corporate sector have taken several initiatives on the skilling front, but many remain underfunded and lack scale and focus. Initiatives by MSDE/ NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) like the 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana', 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra' etc. or flagship CSR programmes of corporates like Hero MotoCorp's 'Happy Earth', 'Ride Safe India', 'Hamari Pari' and 'Educate to Empower' are commendable but not enough.
We need to look at skilling and vocational training both on contemporary and newer skills as a strategic lever. A skilled workforce will be an asset not only to the Indian corporate sector but will contribute to global GDP growth. Indian Corporates and the Government should work hand in hand to support skilling programs for the existing and new workforce.
We have leveraged both primary and secondary data, ranging from NSDC's government and corporate-funded skilling initiatives, their impact on employability, the effectiveness of the training eco-system and Corporate Social Responsibility's contribution towards enhancing Female Labor Force Participation Rates (FLFPR) in India. The findings of this report are thought-provoking and help us look deeper into India's dropping FLFPR and explore a few remedial measures.
This study is of national importance and is a step towards drawing out a concrete action plan to improve India's Female Labor Force Participation Rate (FLFPR). Vocational training has the scope to take the Indian economy and female labour force participation to the next level. The government, corporate, and society have an important role to play to make this happen.
India's FLFPR (Female Labour Force Participation Rate) was at its peak in 2005, at 33.87%, and has fallen to 24.67% in 2019 – the lowest among the G20 countries. In 2018, Saudi Arabia had the lowest FLFPR but they have steadily improved their position from 18.59% in 2005 to 24.73% in 2019 as against India declining from 33.87% in 2005 to 24.67% in 2019.
A key driver of labour force participation is workforce skilling – India's numbers here are dismal. Only 4.69% of India's overall workforce (male and female) are formally skilled, as compared to 52% in the United States, 68% in the United Kingdom, 75% in Germany, 80% in Japan, and 96% in South Korea.
Moreover, the types of skilling imparted are becoming increasingly important - new technologies and intelligent machines are making many current job roles redundant, and women's jobs are particularly vulnerable. We will not be able to protect jobs from automation, but we need to develop strategies at the national level to safeguard livelihoods by up-and re-skilling people in more relevant areas. We need to enable our employees to be more agile and re-skill them on new job roles.
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the corporate sector have taken several initiatives on the skilling front, but many remain underfunded and lack scale and focus. Initiatives by MSDE/ NSDC (National Skill Development Corporation) like the 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana', 'Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra' etc. or flagship CSR programmes of corporates like Hero MotoCorp's 'Happy Earth', 'Ride Safe India', 'Hamari Pari' and 'Educate to Empower' are commendable but not enough.
We need to look at skilling and vocational training both on contemporary and newer skills as a strategic lever. A skilled workforce will be an asset not only to the Indian corporate sector but will contribute to global GDP growth. Indian Corporates and the Government should work hand in hand to support skilling programs for the existing and new workforce.
We have leveraged both primary and secondary data, ranging from NSDC's government and corporate-funded skilling initiatives, their impact on employability, the effectiveness of the training eco-system and Corporate Social Responsibility's contribution towards enhancing Female Labor Force Participation Rates (FLFPR) in India. The findings of this report are thought-provoking and help us look deeper into India's dropping FLFPR and explore a few remedial measures.
This study is of national importance and is a step towards drawing out a concrete action plan to improve India's Female Labor Force Participation Rate (FLFPR). Vocational training has the scope to take the Indian economy and female labour force participation to the next level. The government, corporate, and society have an important role to play to make this happen.